ABSTRACT. The nighttime sky is increasingly illuminated by artificial light sources. Although this
ecological light pollution is damaging ecosystems throughout the world, the topic has received relatively
little attention. Many nocturnally migrating birds die or lose a large amount of their energy reserves during
migration as a result of encountering artificial light sources. This happens, for instance, in the North Sea,
where large numbers of nocturnally migrating birds are attracted to the many offshore platforms. Our aim
is to develop bird-friendly artificial lighting that meets human demands for safety but does not attract and
disorient birds. Our current working hypothesis is that artificial light interferes with the magnetic compass
of the birds, one of several orientation mechanisms and especially important during overcast nights.
Laboratory experiments have shown the magnetic compass to be wavelength dependent: migratory birds
require light from the blue-green part of the spectrum for magnetic compass orientation, whereas red light
(visible long-wavelength) disrupts magnetic orientation. We designed a field study to test if and how
changing light color influenced migrating birds under field conditions. We found that nocturnally migrating
birds were disoriented and attracted by red and white light (containing visible long-wavelength radiation),
whereas they were clearly less disoriented by blue and green light (containing less or no visible longwavelength
radiation). This was especially the case on overcast nights. Our results clearly open perspective
for the development of bird-friendly artificial lighting by manipulating wavelength characteristics.
Preliminary results with an experimentally developed bird-friendly light source on an offshore platform
are promising. What needs to be investigated is the impact of bird-friendly light on other organisms than
birds.
ecology_and_society_-_green_light_for_nocturnally_migrating_birds_-_14pg.pdf

FLAP - Brochure Bright Lights, Big Cities, Dead Birds - 2pg

Fatal
Lights
Hundreds of
species of birds
migrate at night.
If the skies are clear
and their path is moonlit these migrants will often fly at high altitudes
avoiding any possible obstructions. But the lights of 20th century
society can be confusing to them, especially on foggy, rainy nights or
when cloud cover is low. Then they may fly directly into tall lighted
structures such as skyscrapers, transmission towers, monuments, lighthouses
and the like. Where spotlights are shone into the night sky the
birds fly “into” the light and become “entrapped”, unable or unwilling
to fly out again. Eventually, exhausted, they fall to the ground. Some
birds are killed outright. Others are stunned and will revive
in a couple of hours. Those birds that
survive collisions with office
towers clustered in a city's
downtown core find themselves
trapped in a maze of brightly-lit,
reflective buildings. Their
chances of survival are slim.
Feral cats, rats, gulls and other
animals learn to take advantage
of this easy food source. When
people appear on the scene,
the disoriented migrants panic
and try to take cover in the
nearest tree or shrub - whether
it's behind a wall of glass or
reflected in it. Those birds that
do not die upon impact will go
into shock, easily falling prey to
scavengers or being crushed by
unsuspecting feet.
flap_-_brochure_bright_lights_big_cities_dead_birds_-_2pg.pdf

IDA - Ecological consequences of lighting - 2002 - 18pg

They carry out targeted killings on vulnerable victims and go on nocturnal rampages of violence and aggression. A
new group of deadly predators has descended on Britain's towns and cities – but fear not, these urban clashes are
taking place not on the streets but high in the air.
Peregrine falcons, the world's fastest birds, have moved into urban areas nationwide in the past 20 years, and have
now learned to hunt other birds in cities at night – by street light.
The predators, which in the countryside and on the coast generally use cliffs as nesting sites, are using tall buildings
including blocks of flats, power stations and medieval cathedrals to breed on and roost.
It is thought that more than 60 towns and cities, from Truro to Manchester, now hold a pair of peregrines, or single
birds. London holds several pairs.
Increasingly, besides targeting feral pigeons, their principal prey, and other birds commonly found in urban areas in
daylight, such as gulls and blackbirds, these super-efficient killers are chasing birds that migrate at night, using the
glow from street lighting. They even catch bats. Their nocturnal hunting expeditions, largely invisible to human
observers, are revealed by the remains of discarded prey under their nests and roosts, according to a new study in the
April issue of BBC Wildlife magazine.
independent.co.uk_-_city_lights_turn_peregrines_into_night_hawks_-_1pg.pdf

Van de Laar - Green light to birds - dec 2007 - 24pg

May 2007, the external radiating light sources on gasproduction platform L15, have been
exchanged for a special made light source - low in spectral red. L15 is situated in the
North Sea, about 20 km Northwest of the island Vlieland.
The environmental effectiveness has been determined during the bird autumn migration,
between October 5 and 8, 2007. Dense flocks of songbirds, wader birds and ducks were
observed. Also some co-migrating owls were seen. Weather conditions, to assess the
impact of the new lighting were extremely favourable: light fog and almost complete cloud
cover.
The observed species and numbers were compared with assessments from previous
years. Periods of comparable weather conditions were selected and the same observer
was employed in order to assure full comparability of assessment techniques.
Based on this comparison it is concluded that 2-10 times less birds are negatively
impacted (circling around the installation for a prolonged period of time) by the new light
source as by the original standard white (tube lights) and orange (sodium high pressure
lights) lighting. Also the number of birds actually landing on the platform was decreased.
The negative impact on birds therefore was significantly reduced.
For technical reasons, a limited number of light sources was not yet replaced during our
observation period. The presented results are underestimating the effect if all external
lights would have been replaced.
It is also concluded that a North Sea wide approach would be needed and that application
of this new light source could reduce the number of impacted birds from about 6 million to
less as 600.000.
van_de_laar_-_green_light_to_birds_-_dec_2007_-_24pg.pdf

In an annual ritual observed for millennia, hundreds of millions of birds arrive each spring in Canada to choose their breeding
grounds, only to return to warmer climes in autumn. Covering return flight distances of up to 25,000 kilometres, migratory
birds make a truly extraordinary effort.
Only in this century, and therefore suddenly in evolutionary time-scales, have migrating birds faced collisions with artificial
obstacles along their flight paths: buildings and other towering structures covered in glass and lit at night. In the dark, and
especially in foggy or rainy weather, the combination of glass and light becomes deadly. Confused by artificial lights, blinded
by weather, and unable to see glass, birds by the hundreds and even thousands can be injured or killed in one night at one
building. Over 100 different species of birds have collided with buildings in Toronto alone. One expert estimates that across
North America, up to 100 million birds die in collisions each year. Many species that collide frequently are known to be in
long-term decline and some are already designated officially as threatened.
For these reasons, World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) and the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) have formed a new
partnership, and jointly published Collision Course: The Hazards of Lighted Structures and Windows to Migrating Birds. Formed in
1993, FLAP continues a 30-year tradition in Toronto of rescuing birds trapped in the city’s downtown core following latenight
collisions with tall buildings: in the wee hours of the morning, volunteers scour plazas and sidewalks beneath skyscrapers
for dead, injured or disoriented birds, and later release the survivors back to the wild. WWF, dedicated to wildlife conservation
in both the temperate and tropical worlds, seeks to identify emerging issues and advocate practical solutions for the
long-term protection of wildlife at risk.
Compared to habitat loss, pollution, and over-hunting, the issue of building collisions is neither well-known nor adequately
understood. Yet across North America, more birds die from collisions each year than succumbed to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
As author Lesley J. Evans Ogden points out in Collision Course, bird collisions is a continent-wide issue affecting millions of
birds. Her research experience with migratory species, combined with a commitment to conservation, show us what lessons
can be learned and applied. In principal, it is delightfully simple to prevent collisions: by night, turn out the lights; by day,
make windows visible to birds. In practice, solutions require commitment and action from building owners, managers and
tenants in the short-run, and new approaches to office environments by architects, engineers and designers in the long-run.
Responding to the call to action in Collision Course, FLAP and WWF will campaign to make Toronto the first “bird-friendly”
city in North America. Royal Bank of Canada, which generously sponsored publication of Collision Course, is leading the reform
of building management practices in Toronto, with the goal of minimizing escaped light at night and thus bird
collisions at the Royal Bank Plaza office towers. When we consider that a bird flying north from the Gulf of Mexico to eastern
Canada stands a 70 percent chance of encountering at least one urban area, it is clear that other buildings and other cities must
take up the challenge, too. Those who do will find Collision Course their starting point.
wwf_-_the_hazards_of_lighted_structures_and_windows_to_migrating_birds_-_sept_1996_-_52pg.pdf

Loss of Night: Artificial Light Disrupts Sex Hormones of Birds

“Birds are particularly sensitive to light and different chemical interventions. If you see these deleterious effects in the birds, you're likely to see them in humans in short-order. The smart thing to do is to pay attention to avian life,” said Vincent Cassone, whose University of Kentucky lab examines neuroendocrine systems of birds and mammals.

Associated with a continued global increase in urbanization, anthropogenic light pollution is an important problem. However, our understanding of the ecological consequences of light pollution is limited.

Light pollution's impact on other species in the environment are found here.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din of wings and winds and solitary cries, Blinded and maddened by the light within, Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

Extract from The Lighthouse in The Seaside and the Fireside (1850)
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Birds

Many species of birds, especially the small insect-eaters, migrate at night. Migrating and nocturnal birds will use the light from the Moon and stars and the setting Sun for navigation during their bi-annual migrations. Light pollution hides their navigational aids. Artificial, city lights especially interfere with this instinctive behavior. It draws night-migrating birds toward brightly-lit buildings in urban areas. The Fatal Light Awareness Program reports that researchers have used radar imagery to determine how birds respond to lit environments. They observed that once birds fly through a lit environment, they'll return to that lit source and then hesitate to leave it, and in doing so, become trapped in cities that offer little food for them. The birds then often crash into brilliantly-lit broadcast towers or buildings, or circle them until they drop from exhaustion. Finally, once on the ground, stunned or injured birds become vulnerable to predation. The pictures they have collected are stunning and grusome.

New York dims lights to aid birds

New York dims lights to aid birds

By Maria Kolesnikova
New York

The city that never sleeps is turning out the lights on dozens of skyscrapers in the hope of protecting birds distracted from migration paths. Every night in autumn, hundreds collide with Manhattan's high-rise towers.